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Rating: "Oh no, a review about those commercial sellouts, the Queen!"
I imagine that some of you reacted like this upon finding their name on the list of new reviews.
Well, let me tell you that in that case, you're being superficial and ill-informed. You see, before Mercury's death, there wasn't this media bombardment of their most famous and now popular songs, which are more or less tolerated with resignation. And there wasn’t even the widespread belief that Queen was an easy-listening band, because they actually weren’t, so much so that in Italy, as in the USA or other parts of planet Earth, Freddie Mercury's band was anything but a mainstream high-charting group.
Queen wasn’t well supported by critics who always denigrated them without ever truly understanding them, despite some essential works for every rock lover, interspersed with less important pop-rock albums, which nonetheless are difficult to find comparables to in terms of value in the recent musical scene.
The necessary introduction was meant to make it clear that it's not just Led Zeppelin, The Who, or Deep Purple that hard rock needs to save from the end of the world. In fact, compared to many other names unfortunately, and solely in our parts, underestimated, these mentioned groups are even overrated by the new generations of kids rediscovering the '70s.
Queen II is indeed one of the albums to be rediscovered and considered as a true and legitimate masterpiece of rock with dark and sepulchral tones, so dear to new wave artists, as well as to '90s rock stars like Billy Corgan, who has honestly declared in unsuspecting times that this album is one of his absolute favorites, fundamental for his artistic formation.
But what could be so valuable in a Queen album? Well, first of all, get rid of the prejudices, and insert the CD into your player: you'll find something to which, if you're not already familiar with the Queen's court, you weren't prepared.
The intro of Procession already suggests that something is amiss, that the cleanly polished sound of the songs from the Greatest Hits is far away, and the guitar arpeggio introducing Father to Son clears any form of doubt: these are not the Queen everyone knows. The aforementioned song is notoriously one of the most underrated in the entire band’s catalog. Epic and melodramatic with perfect moderation, it already lays down the cards that the band will play throughout the album, where, if there was ever the slightest doubt, Bruno Maggio’s guitar overdubs, and Fede Mercurio's sublime, unparalleled voice, dominate.
The first part of the album, named White, is entirely composed by May, who excels in every single intuition, especially in the splendid White Queen (As It Began), which the band itself has surprisingly forgotten in the years to come. It continues with an acoustic song sung by Brian, and the customary primordial punk rock outburst by Taylor, marking the end of the white side, and takes us straight towards the heart of the album, the black side, entirely composed by Freddie Mercury, where you'll journey through stories inherited from Tolkien's Hobbit, high-class progressive hard rock, flourishing piano, pseudo-operatic choirs (which we will find again in a more melodramatic form in the following albums) and many other insights that make this album a gem.
Ogre Battle is hard rock by definition, Nevermore, just voice and piano, is as good as it gets for hearing the clean voice of a young Mercury, applause-worthy for his talent as an interpreter empathizing with the narratives of his own songs. The Fairy Feller Masterstroke is Yes-styled progressive, and I believe Mr. Enrico Ruggieri (yes, him!) should have a bit more to tell us about this song (see Peter Pan).
The March of the Black Queen is then a true journey into the band’s history: it encapsulates all, I say all, the band's poetics, in a single, elusive, infinite song.
It concludes with Funny how Love Is (another surprise hit, a sunny and easy song that contrasts with the dark atmospheres of the album) and the tongue-twister and finger-twister (at the piano it must not be an easy task to play it) of Seven Seas of Rhye, the only song left to posterity from the entire batch.
In conclusion, for those already familiar with the album in question, I would recommend revisiting it for a new interested listen, especially if the tape or CD has been gathering dust. For those who still can't stand them, and hate the image (exploited and raped - only - here by us) that has been made of the band, it's time to be surprised. That is, if one is sufficiently open-minded and patient to see, understand, and bow to the passing of the Black Queen.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 The Loser in the End (04:03)
Mama's got a problem
She don't know what to say
Her little baby boy
Has just left home today
She's got to be the loser in the end
She's got to be the loser in the end
Misuse her and you'll lose her as a friend
She's ma on whom you can always depend ooh
She washed and fed and clothed and cared
For nearly twenty years
And all she gets is Goodbye Ma
And the night times for her tears
She's got to be the loser in the end
She's got to be the loser in the end
Misuse her and you'll lose her as a friend
She's ma on whom you can always depend ooh
So listen mothers ev'rywhere
To just one mothers son
You'll get forgotten on the way
If you don't let them have their fun
Forget regrets and just remember
It's not so long since you were young
You're bound to be the loser in the end
You're bound to be the loser in the end
They'll chose their new shoes
That's not far to bend
You're ma on whom they can always depend ooh ooh
06 Ogre Battle (04:07)
Words and music by Freddie Mercury
Now once upon a time
An old man told me a fable
When the piper is gone
And the soup is cold on the table
And if the black crow flies
To find a new destination
That is the sign
Come tonight
Come to the ogre site
Come to the ogre battle fight
He gives a great big cry
And he can swallow up the ocean
With a mighty tongue he catches flies
And the palm of his hand incredible size
One great big eye has to focus in your direction
Now the battle is on
Yeah yeah yeah!
Come tonight
Come to the ogre site
Come to the ogre battle fight
Ah ah ah ah ah
The ogre men are still inside
The two way mirror mountain
You gotta keep down
Right out of sight
You can't see in but they can see out
Keep a look out
The ogre men are coming out
From the two way mirror mountain
They're running up behind
And they're coming all about
Can't go east 'cause you gotta go south
Ogre men are going home
The great big fight is over
Bugle blow let trumpet cry
Ogre battle lives for ever more
You can come along
You can come along
Come to ogre battle
08 Nevermore (01:26)
There's no living in my life anymore
The seas have gone dry and the rain stopped falling
Please don't you cry anymore
Can't you see?
Listen to the breeze, whisper to me please
Don't send me to the path of nevermore
Even the valleys below,
Where the rays of the sun were so warm and tender,
Now haven't anything to grow
Can't you see?
(Nevermore nevermore)
Why did you have to leave me?
(Nevermore nevermore)
Why did you deceive me?
You send me to the path of nevermore
When you say you didn't love me anymore
(Aah aah)
Nevermore, aah
Nevermore
11 Seven Seas of Rhye (02:49)
Fear me, you lords and lady preachers
I descend upon your earth from the skies
I command your very souls, you unbelievers
Bring before me what is mine
The seven seas of Rhye
Can you hear me, you peers and privy councilors
I stand before you naked to the eyes
I will destroy any man who dares abuse my trust
I swear that you'll be mine
The seven seas of Rhye
(Sister) I live and lie for you
(Mister) do and I'll die
You are mine, I possess you
Belong to you forever (Ever, ever, ahh)
Storm the master marathon I'll fly through
By flash and thunder fire I'll survive
(I'll survive, I'll survive) Then I'll defy the laws of nature
And come out alive
(Then I'll get you)
Begone with you you shod and shady senators
Give out the good, leave out the bad evil cries
I challenge the mighty Titan and his troubadours
And with a smile
I'll take you to the seven seas of Rhye
I'd like to be beside the seaside
I'd like to be beside the sea
Where the brass drums play
I'd like to be beside the seaside
I'd like to be beside the sea
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Other reviews
By Peppe Weapon
One of the most underrated rock works in history.
Those who hate Queen should listen to this album.
By CRITIC-MUSIC
Freddie was and still is 90% of the band’s success.
‘The March of the Black Queen’ is, in my opinion, the most beautiful song in the history of rock!
By Walterstarman1
Queen II is one of the most well-crafted and creative albums ever.
Explosion of guitar, explosion of voice, triumph of choruses. The closure is melancholy 'As it began'. Goosebump-inducing song, excellent piece.
By Starblazer
"'Queen II' is a record full of hard rock and baroque, surreal, and fairy-tale atmospheres."
"I consider it Queen's masterpiece, even more than 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'"
By paolofreddie
"Queen II is an ambiguous masterpiece with multiple nuances, an admirable blend of styles, perfect in arrangements, structure, and the fluid flow of the music."
"'The March of the Black Queen' is superb, a masterpiece within the masterpiece, one of the best compositions by Queen, if not the best."
